Petshrimp.com Discussion Forum

Hi everyone,

The thread in the shrimp section that got me thinking...

Can Cambarellus diminutus, Cambarellus dhufeldtii or Cambararellus patzcuarensis interbreed?

With the dwarf cray part of the hobby even younger then the shrimp, this would be horrible.

TKD

Many species of Cambarellus have been found to hybridize in the wild. I have no idea if those particular species could interbreed. Possibly Cambarellus Shufeldtii or Cambararellus patzcuarensis but there is only one way to find out.

The current "family tree" for the genus Cambarellus has 3 branches (sub-genera). All of the Mexican species are in the same sub-genus, C. shufeldtii is in its own subgenus, and the rest of the U.S. species are in the last sub-genus.

Members of the same subgenera would be more likely to hybridize than more distantly relates species.

Of course, it is always best to keep closely relates species separated, but you should at least keep the sub-genera separated.

For reference again, here is the complete list of species.

9 species in the Cambarellus sub-genus from Mexico:

Cambarellus (Cambarellus) alvarezi
Cambarellus (Cambarellus) areolatus
Cambarellus (Cambarellus) chapalanus
Cambarellus (Cambarellus) chihuahuae
Cambarellus (Cambarellus) montezumae
Cambarellus (Cambarellus) occidentalis
Cambarellus (Cambarellus) patzcuarensis
Cambarellus (Cambarellus) prolixus
Cambarellus (Cambarellus) zempoalensis

1 species in the Dirigicambarus sub-genus from the U.S.:

Cambarellus (Dirigicamberus) shufeldtii

7 species in the Pandicambarellus sub-genus from the U.S.:

Cambarellus (Pandicambarus) blacki
Cambarellus (Pandicambarus) diminutus
Cambarellus (Pandicambarus) lesliei
Cambarellus (Pandicambarus) ninae
Cambarellus (Pandicambarus) puer
Cambarellus (Pandicambarus) schmitti
Cambarellus (Pandicambarus) texanus

YuccaPatrol

Thank You, for the information.
So, are all of these considered Dwarf Crayfish ?

If so, I think I need to set up more tanks

John

One thing we have going for us is that this part of the hobby is young. The vast majority of Cambarellus have yet to find their way into the hobby, although we can probably expect a couple new species a year for the next few years.

At this point, it may be difficult to really know the origin of any of the Mexican dwarf crays in the hobby, but we can do our best to assure the purity of the gene pool for any new species.

Back to the hybridization question.

I have found one single reference in the scientific literature that suggests that C. shufeldtii has extended its range at the expense of C. diminutus and C. puer with no mention of hybrids being found in the wild. This suggests that shufeldtii may not hybridize with other species,, and being in its own subgenus may be enough to prevent interbreeding. However this is the only tiny reference I can find to base such a guess on.

I only have 3 out of 17. That really sucks. Time to find more. Off to search now.

Happy hunting Jason

FISH WORLD ERIE wrote:I only have 3 out of 17. That really sucks. Time to find more. Off to search now.

I can always use more hands to carry nets and buckets in the field. . .

I would love to be able to do that. But a family and responsibilities keep me grounded. Maybe in a couple years when I'm rich .